Bryanboy on Starting His Blog from the Ground Up

The internet sensation formerly known as Bryan Grey Yambao tells us all about what it takes to be one of fashion's favorite web stars.

With a fur collection for Adrienne Landau out now, Bryanboy is making some stylish moves as of late. In honor of the recently-launched accessories, we had the mega-blogger spill his secrets to success in his own words.

It's really important to have a unique point of view. A lot of people start blogs to show off their outfits or because they just feel like they should be blogging. Mine really began as a travel journal. I started my blog in my bedroom in the Philippines after I went to Russia for a month, and I thought I would create a diary. People seem to forget the storytelling aspect—everything has to have a narrative. I think it's important to have a voice because so many people out there really just say, "OK, I want to be a fashion blogger, so I'm just going to post pictures of me wearing clothes." It has to go beyond that. And then of course, a lot of bloggers only want to sit in the front row and get gifts. It really doesn't work like that! The most successful bloggers turn their blog into a business. It's a full-time job, but a lot of bloggers are blinded by the glamour aspect of it. In reality, it's like icing on the cake.

Some of the bloggers I know work extremely hard and have to sacrifice their personal lives. Related, try not to have a photographer boyfriend! It's the biggest mistake. You have to separate your work from your personal life. If you don't, ultimately that's going to end really badly. I get my best friend to help me. Rumi [Neely of Fashiontoast] will take my picture, or I'll get whoever I'm with to do it. Everything is really organic, and I don't plan shoots. It's not like I have a full-time photographer! I've actually considered hiring one, but then it would be so contrived. Blogs should reflect what goes on in your life as opposed to you creating something specifically for the blog—and your life shouldn't be overrun by it.

My favorite part of my job is interacting with people. When I first started, I never got the chance to see anybody. I started my site because I wanted to interact with people around the world. I love when fans approach me on the street to say they like my work, whether it's on the blog or Twitter or Instagram. Blogging really opened the world to me.

I also love meeting some of the most important creative forces in the industry. You grow up looking at magazines, and websites and seeing the work of the people you admire, and then to meet them in person or even work with them. That's definitely beyond cool. The only time I got star struck recently is when I met Steven Meisel on July 4th. I was going to do a trip to Maine and do the whole lobster, and American flags thing, but then decided to stay in New York. I went to Barneys uptown and wanted to go to Sant Ambroeus for coffee and low and behold I saw Steven Meisel on the way! It's so hard to keep cool, especially when you see someone so elusive. He doesn't go to any events—nothing!—so when you meet him, it's just like, "Wow." It was really, really insane.